Happy Birthday Luca!

Yummy Dung Beetle Balls!

I was looking for a lunch box filler this morning, so quickly made these.
The boys were impressed!

Take a 250g block of dried stoned dates (or alternatively use fresh or dry loose dates)
and mix in a blender with a little bit of boiled, slightly cooled water (go easy on the water - rather add too little than too much). Add about half a cup of dessicated coconut and blend again until a workable mass is formed.
Take about 2 heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture and roll into a ball on a board covered with more coconut. Repeat...
Place your Dung Beetle Balls in the fridge or freezer for a while to firm up slightly and there you go....

This recipe makes about 10 balls.
A serving is about 1 or 2 balls. Store left-over balls in a sealed container in the fridge out of reach of little beetles!

Hello....we are back!

It's been a quite a while but I will hopefully be posting on a more regular basis, or at least once a week. In the meantime we have all been busy and my boys have been busiest of all....GROWING!

I can't believe that they are getting so big. Tom has started Preschool (Grade 0) in January this year which has been a big change for all of us. He has settled in and is enjoying it, and comes home everyday with stories about everything he has learnt. He has a brain like a sponge and loves soaking up new information, especially when it has to do with his favourite topics - science or nature.

Today it was his first official (compulsory)sports day. We were a bit apprehensive as his swimming is not the greatest but he did very well and swam 2 lengths of the small pool in doggy paddle! Slowly we are getting there!

Ben's birthday -1 August!

We celebrated Ben's third birthday last Friday! I can't believe my little baby boy is getting so big, sob sob! (I think birthdays are always bittersweet occasions for mommies.)

He had a fabulous day - almost non-stop party - from the time he woke up 'til he eventually collapsed late in the night! More party pages coming soon, and this bright and funky birthday kit will be posted soon too.

Work on Scrappykitchen.com is slow and tedious...but is getting there! Yay!
Cheers for now,
The exhausted, but healthy-again mommy

Ben

Took such cute photos of Ben this weekend, I just had to use them for a page!
Ben insists on drinking out of a glass when we are out - nervewracking...

Robert's visit

Our nephew, Robert was here from Germany for a too short visit. Thomas had met him once before in Germany when he was a baby, and this was Ben's first time meeting one of his German cousins.

Emma's Party

Thanks to BS for letting me post this page I did for Emma's birthday.
This is a copy of the high res original, and in copying it one of the strokes went missing - top right "balloon". Too much work to go back and fix it for Scrappy Kitchen, but the original is perfect!

There were so many lovely pics I took of Emma at her party that I decided to make balloon shapes to try use as many as possible without the layout looking too cluttered. I used the spots from her dress and a transparent pastel gradient to add a bit of interest to the background paper.

So sorry to my faithful Scrappy readers (at least I know I have one, hey BL!) for not posting for so long. Last week was particularly hectic - I had a bad dose of middle ear infection plus a very special visitor from abroad, and the boys were extra demanding, as they always seem to be when I'm not 100%.
Anyway will try to be more "regular" - :) - and I am also thinking of designing kits which, hopefully, will be posted on Scrappy Kitchen soon...So please pop in again, and please don't be shy to leave a comment too.

I must also still finish setting up Scrappy Kitchen properly...still not finished with the header and still have to do my profile and, and...
Sjoe - too much to do and such little time!!!